"Mm..." Qian Renxue nodded and took Zhao Linchuan's hand. "Come with me. I'll take you to my mother's quarters."
The two silently slipped out of the shadows and left along the corridor beside the Supreme Pontiff Palace.
But the instant they turned away, Bibi Dong, who had been handling official business with her head lowered, suddenly raised her eyes. An intensely dark-purple divine light flashed deep within them.
The light came and went swiftly.
It vanished into the depths of her pupils almost in the blink of an eye, unnoticed even by the attendants beside her.
Her writing hand paused for a beat, then resumed its normal rhythm as she continued writing instructions on the memorials.
The sun set without a sound.
Dusk came early to Spirit City.
After finishing the day's administrative affairs, Bibi Dong did not hurry to dinner. Instead, she took a warm bath in her bedchamber.
Steam rising from the bath blurred the outline of the round mirror. She leaned against the wall of the pool with her eyes closed, resting her mind as droplets slid slowly down her fair shoulders and neck, falling onto the water and spreading without a sound.
After nearly an hour, Bibi Dong rose from the bath.
She changed into a pale-pink dress and walked slowly to the meditation room deep within her bedchamber.
This was where Bibi Dong cultivated every day.
The room was sparsely furnished, with only a meditation cushion in the center and an ever-burning Soul Guidance Lamp.
Bibi Dong walked over to the cushion, bent her knees, and sat down. Resting her hands on her knees, she slowly closed her eyes.
Zhao Linchuan and Qian Renxue had been waiting for a long time.
At the very moment Bibi Dong closed her eyes to regulate her breathing,